Iranian Official Urges Boost in Hajj Quota

IQNA – A senior Iranian Hajj official says the country needs more Hajj quota as some pilgrims should now wait for 30 years to make the sacred pilgrimage.

“It is essential to increase our pilgrimage quota,” Hojat-ol-Islam Abdul Fattah Navvab, the representative of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs, said on Sunday.

“For some pilgrims, the wait from registration to departure extends over 30 years,” he regretted.

Navvab made the statement in a ceremony that was held in Tehran to introduce Hojat-ol-Islam Ali Reza Bayat as the new head of Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization.

Over 83,000 Iranian pilgrims took part in the major pilgrimage this year.

Navvab also said that Iranians living abroad should be considered in the quota. “There are also many qualified pilgrims living abroad, and something must be done for them,” he said.

“I have proposed that one-thousandth of our country’s population be granted Hajj access, with an additional one-ten-thousandth allocation for Iranians living abroad,” he added.

Elsewhere in his address, Navvab pointed to the changes and restrictions in Saudi Arabia.

“The atmosphere in the host country has changed. Instead of sending us invitations for Hajj, they now announce that all cultural activities with any political undertone are prohibited,” he added.

“The restrictions have significantly increased, and we must navigate them in a way that ensures pilgrims still receive appropriate services,” he said.

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